alligator catch a catch made with both hands coming together in a clapping motion on the top and bottom of the disc simultaneously. [also pancake]
aggro abbr. aggressive. Referring to poor spirited, overly aggressive play by an individual or team. ("I can't believe how aggro they are") [see spirit]
away the side of the field opposite to where your team has piled its gear. To force away would be to force the thrower to throw toward the away side of the field. [see home, force]
backhand a standard throw; right-handed player places thumb on top of disc, curls fingers underneath, extends arm to left side of body. [see flick]
banana cut an easy to follow cut where the offensive player runs in an arc instead of sharply changing direction. [see cut]
bear-ninja-cowboy to determine who begins the game, instead of a flipping two discs, a team may opt to do bear-ninja-cowboy instead. Bear beats ninja; ninja beats cowboy; and cowboy beats bear. To do this, representatives from each team stand back to back, walk three paces, turn around and act out their chosen character. [see ro-sham-bo]
bender same as outside-in.
bid an impressive attempt to catch the disc.
bingo a receiver pre-designated to catch the disc in the endzone and score the point.
blade a throw that goes high in the air and curves hard toward the ground on its edge. [also knife, tomahawk]
boulder cut a cut where the offensive player runs as if to go long and then cuts back toward the thrower. A reverse boulder involves the offensive player running toward the disc and then running long. [see cut, long]
box a scrimmage version of ultimate played with a half field and less players where the disc must be caught in a small square area marked by cones. [see goaltimate]
break-force a throw which moves the disc to an area of the field away from where the marker is forcing the thrower. [also break, break-mark, break the force; see force, line]
brick the rule allowing the receiving team to start from the middle of the field at the point where the disc went out or a point ten yards upfield from the goal line they are defending if the disc landed out of bounds. The thrower must call "brick" before the disc hits the ground. [also middle(1); see pull]
bullet any throw that is thrown with a great deal of speed.
butterfly cut a sideways cut made directly in front of the thrower. [see cut]
check 1 in a man-on defence the player of the opposing team that each player pairs up with to defend and the act of defending against that player. 2 the defense player that covers the thrower within three meters. [also mark, marker]
check disc stopping play to throw the game disc back and forth to check for damage to the disc shown by wobble in its flight. [see road disc]
chilly to slow down play and not throw the disc away by being hasty. Used instead of yelling "you've got time!" so as to not inadvertently cause a time-out.
clear to run out of the passing lanes in order to avoid clogging after an unsuccessful cut. [see clog, cut]
clog to prevent good cuts by standing in the way of your teammates and not clearing, [see clear, cut]
cone any marker used to mark the boundaries of the playing field, usually consisting of triangle and flat cones. [see pylon]
conservation of greatness the fact that a player who has just made a great play and as a result has possession of the disc is likely to commit a throwing error turnover due to the rush of adrenaline from the great play. [also rule 6]
corkscrew a throw similar to the hammer but the disc is held in a backhand grip rather than a forehand grip, so that the disc flattens out and curves the opposite way from the hammer. [see hammer, scoober, thumber, U-D]
cup in a zone defence when two or more defensive players mark the thrower and move with the disc when it is thrown. [see mark, zone]
cut a run by a receiver to shake his defender. [see banana cut, boulder cut, butterfly cut, clear, clog]
D abbr. defense.
deep 1 a defensive or offensive player who generally stays in the area of field furthest toward the endzone to be scored in. 2 v. to run toward your endzone as an offensive player. [also long; see strike]
disc the "Frisbee" used in Ultimate with an official weight of 175 grams. [see virgin plastic]
disc in called by the marker or player to signal that the disc is in play. [see check]
double happiness the feeling you get when you block the opposing player's pass on defence and then immediately cut and receive the disc to score the point.
drop when a defender falls back to cover the deepest cutting receiver, leaving the thrower or another receiver to be covered hopefully by another defender. [see check, switch]
dump 1 to pass the disc backwards. 2 an offensive player positioned as to receive a dump pass.
eso-iso abbr. estrogen isolation. An offensive strategy used to group a players of a gender to play the disc exclusively so as to capitalize on any bad matches.
fake a motion made by the thrower to cause his mark to believe he is going throw one direction instead of another.
field 1 the playing surface. 2 a set of cones used to mark the boundaries of the playing surface. [see cone]
fish 1 used in a salmon zone, the fish is the defensive player responsible for forcing the disc towards one side of the field. The fish is the only player that marks the disc. 2 (Southern U.S.) A player who is confused and/or not running/moving as well as other players on the field. Derived from the term "fish out of water". A fish is often scored upon, and usually poached off of. A fish is so bad that no matter whom the fish is covering, it�s always a mismatch. Fish is also a relative term: an intermediate player who finds himself in a top-level game might wind up being the fish. [see pylon]
flick a throw similar to skipping a stone across water where the thrower holds the disc with the thumb on top of the disc and the first two or three fingers underneath. [also forehand; see backhand]
flow when the offensive team connects a number of passes together to advance the disc toward the endzone they are attacking.
force when a defensive player positions in such a way as to allow the thrower to only be able to throw the disc to one part of the field. The direction you want them to throw is the direction of the force. [see away, home, middle]
forehand same as flick.
gratuitous used to describe a showoff move (e.g. layout, hammer) that, while impressive, was not remotely necessary. ("He had an easy bid, but he went for the gratuitous layout")
gender across used to indicate that each defending player is going to check the corresponding player of the same gender on the line directly across from them. [see check, mark]
give'n'go when two players pass the disc back and forth repeatedly as they move forward.
go through called out to advise a player not to pick up the disc off the ground after a turnover but to run forward and allow the disc to be picked up by a player further back. [also push]
goaltimate a commercialized version of box using a round field and a large arch that the disc must be thrown through to score. [see box]
greatest, the where a player leaps from in-bounds and while in the air catches and throws the disc to a teammate before landing out of bounds, and by doing so the receiver's team maintains possession. As the name implies, it is "the greatest" play in Ultimate. [see stupidest, the]
hack a foul.
hammer an overhead throw with a forehand grip in which the disc is released at an angle so that it flattens out and flies upside down. [also tomahawk, see corkscrew, scoober, thumber, U-D]
handler 1 one of a team's primary throwers. 2 in a standard zone offence, one of the three players who swing the disc from one side of the field.
heckle the art of standing on the sideline and teasing the players on field through the use of inventive language and/or psychological manipulation.
high release a backhand throw held and released over the thrower's head; very difficult to block.
ho abbr. horizontal. ("Why didn't you go ho for that disc") [see layout]
home the side of the field where your team has piled its gear. To force home would be to force the thrower to throw toward the home side of the field. [see away, force]
hospital pass a high floating pass which has the effect of bringing two or more players together into a collision as they sky for the disc.
hot 1 something good or great. ("hot bid") [also sweet] 2 high intensity. ("hot D") [see chilly]
huck a long throw, equivalent to a long bomb in football. [also pipe]
I-O abbr. inside-out.
ibu abbr. Ibuprofin. Used almost fanatically by Ultimate players. [also vitamin I]
inside-out as a backhand, a throw to the right that curves left; as a forehand, a throw to the left that curves right. [also hyzer(New Mexico/Texas)]
jellyroll when all players of both teams join hands to form one long line after a game and then one end begins to run around the stationary other end until the line has rolled up.
karma as used in ultimate, karma refers to the positive or negative effect of spirit upon the play. For example, a person can block a pass without touching it if his effort to get there deserves it. ("Great karma D"), or a player's ability may be negatively affected by their bad spirit.
knife same as blade.
land shark occasionally a group of players will lift a completely naked male on their shoulders with a disc wedged between his buttocks and proceed to run around the field chanting "land shark!" [also land porpoise {female}, see Sea World]
layout the act of diving while running in order to catch a disc out of your ordinary reach. ("If you didn't catch it, you should have laid out"). [see ho]
line 1 when each team stands in a row at the front of their endzones at the start of each point so that the players of the other team can choose their check ("Hey you guys, hold the line!") [see check]. 2 the sideline portion of the field. To yell "no line!" is to tell the marker to prevent a throw down the sideline. [see force, break-force]
line-force to force the thrower to only throw along the sideline that the thrower is standing at. [see force, line]
look off when the thrower does not throw the disc to an open receiver.
long same as deep.
mac abbr. Midflight Attitude Correction or Mid Air Change. The act of redirecting a disc while its in flight to another player without catching it.
mac line a fun game where two or more people stand in a line and a thrower throws the disc down the line to a receiver with each player in the line attempting to continuously "mac" the disc to the next player. [see mac (above)]
man-on defensive strategy where each player picks one player from the opposing team to defend against during the point.
mark same as check.
marker same as check(2).
mid 1 a receiver who cuts for shorter passes than the long [see long] 2 in zone play, the defensive players in the area immediately behind the cup. In standard zone defence the positions are mid-left, mid-mid and mid-right across the field from left to right as you face the opposing team.
middle 1 same as brick. 2 the center area of the field. ("Let's force middle") [see away, force, home]
naked point when players strip off their clothes and play a point naked. Done for spirit, it is painful on the layout. [see spirit]
no huck called out to advise the marker to switch the force to prevent a huck to a striking player. [see huck, marker, strike]
O abbr. offense.
O-B abbr. out of bounds.
O-I abbr. outside-in.
O�Maley the equivalent of a "hack" in hackey-sack where all the players touch the frisbee at least once before scoring.
outside-in as a backhand, a throw to the left that curves right; as a forehand, a throw to the right that curves left. [also reverse curve, bender(New Mexico/Texas)]
pancake same as alligator catch.
pick an intentional or unintentional block (like basketball) where a player gets between you and the player you are covering.
pipe same as huck ("Watch out, he's going to pipe it!")
picking up garbage when a player manages to catch another player's bad throw. [see swill]
pivot foot the stationary foot (left for right handers and right for left handers) that a thrower pivots around in order to throw around the marker. [see travel]
poach 1 the act of leaving your check during man-on defence in order to cover an area of the field. [see man-on] 2 any player who attempts this act.
point 1 the single value of each score 2 the play up until the score ("Wow, that was a long point").
popper in a zone, an offensive player that cuts in and out for a short pass.
pull the long (hopefully) throw that begins the possession after each point.
punt a long throw with no realistic receiver, used to escape bad field position.
push same as go through.
push pass a slow moving forehand throw that spins in the opposite direction as a flick.
pylon not to be confused with a cone, a pylon is a player that never receives the disc in a game. [see cone]
read the art of judging the precise landing spot of the disc through observation of angle of the disc, speed, direction of travel and wind effect in order to perfect a catch or block.("Nice read!").
reverse curve same as outside-in.
revs abbr. revolutions. refers to the amount of spin placed on a disc by a thrower.
roller a disc thrown so that it lands on its edge on the ground and rolls. Effective pull in windy conditions. [see pull]
ro-sham-bo rock-paper-scissors. Used in Ultimate on occasion to determine who begins the game. [see bear-ninja-cowboy]
road disc any damaged disc, usually caused by repeated impacts with the ground or paved surfaces. [also street meat; see check disc, taco]
rule 6 same as conservation of greatness.
run through what you shout to tell another player to run past the disc without picking it up.
savage playing without subs.
scoober a fast, difficult to intercept throw. Similar to a hammer, a scoober is thrown with all wrist and no arm. [see corkscrew, hammer, thumber, U-D]
scorpion a badly executed layout when the player lands on his or her upper chest or face resulting in the player's back arching and feet flying forward over their head. [see layout, ho]
Sea World when a land porpoise and a land shark are simultaneously hoisted up and one is tossed over the other. [see land shark]
sky jumping to catch the disc.
snack food a long high throw that passes near one or more defensive players and is easily intercepted. ("tossing up snack food')
spirit The spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. "Win-at-all-costs" behavior is contrary to spirit.
stack offensive strategy in which all the players line up down the middle of the field and alternately make cuts out of the stack to be open receivers.
stall count the defensive player counts out loud to ten while marking the thrower. The offensive player must throw the disc before the first utterance of the word ten otherwise it's a turnover.
street meat same as road disc.
strike 1 to cut long as an offensive player. [see cut, long] 2 same as no huck.
strip when a defensive player knocks or takes the disc out of an offensive player's hands.
stupidest, the in a misjudged attempt to do "the greatest" when a player leaps from in-bounds and while in the air catches and throws the disc to no-one in the middle of the field for a turnover before landing still in-bounds. It is "the stupidest" because had they held onto the disc they would have maintained possession. [see greatest, the]
SOTG abbr. spirit of the game. [see spirit]
sweet same as hot(1).
swill a bad throw. [see picking up garbage]
swing 1 to pass the disc laterally. 2 a player positioned to receive a swing pass. [see dump, zone]
switch when two defenders exchange the offensive players that they are marking. [see check]
swoopie same as air bounce.
T-O abbr. turnover. Possession changing to the opposing team during play.
taco a tacoed disc is one that is bent and wobbles in the air when thrown [see road disc].
tomahawk same as blade or hammer.
thumber a throw similar to the hammer but the disc is held with the thumb underneath. [see corkscrew, hammer, scoober, U-D]
top in a three person cup, the defensive player in the center of the cup who prevents the forward pass. [see cup, zone]
trap to force an offensive player who has possession of the disc at a sideline to only be able to throw along that sideline. [see force]
travel illegal movement by the player with the disc when a player moves his/her pivot foot or takes unnecessary steps after the catch or changes directions while slowing down. [see pivot foot]
U-D abbr. upside-down. Any pass thrown where the disc is released upside down. [see corkscrew, hammer, scoober, thumber]
ulti-slut 1 a player who moves from team to team to team in an effort to play on a better team. 2 a player who plays on a number of teams.
ultimate Ultimate is a non-contact sport played by two seven player teams. The disc may only be moved by passing as the thrower is not allowed to take any steps. Any time a pass is incomplete, intercepted, knocked-down, or contacts an out-of-bounds area, a turnover occurs, resulting in an immediate change of possession of the disc. A goal is scored when a player successfully passes the disc to a teammate in the endzone which that team is attacking.
ultimate time the reference to the fact that any ultimate related activity never starts or finishes on time.
up! called aloud by defensive players to alert teammates that the disc is in the air.
virgin plastic a disc in mint condition that had never been used or hit pavement. [see disc]
vitamin I same as ibuprofin.
zone a defensive strategy characterized by one or more players on the defensive team not marking a player on the opposing team, but an area. [see cup, fish, long, mid, top]
